Contemporary
Artist and Flippant Dadaist
Marcus Clarke's'Puppet TV Graffiti' page. Contact
“Affectionate anarchy. Art with attitude.”
Advancing Puppetry and Contemporary Art by imbuing objects and images, with some of the qualities of a puppet. Primarily the ability to convey irreverence and the illusion of life. I'm 'Puppetizing' things.
Some Quotes."interesting juxtaposition, an eclectic mishmash, a concentration of tropes". "Gesamtkunstwerk". anon
"A local artist – making a mark regionally, nationally and internationally". Peter Knott. ACE.
"A play with Semiotics". "If I didn't think I was creating great Art, I wouldn't do it". "Chaos out of order" and
"I've never worried about being 'found out'. I know I'm not a fraud." Marcus Clarke
"Who does he think he is". The Spectacle
4 Puppetised Jacket's Project on this page
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About this
work. Bow
Street Buttons.I was visiting my Brother at the Royal Opera House when I passed by the now boarded up Bow Street Magistrates Court. I took this Photo. I worked a lot in this area in the 80’s and I remembered the Building as a working Court. I had only a few weeks before passed by the boarded up Shoreditch Town Hall and Police Station. I was born in Forest Gate. I lamented a little for the disappearing culture and landscape of the Cockney that I had been brought up with. The Cockney of the Italian Job, Alfie and the old Bull and Bush. The Spiv and the Blitz Spirit. When I visited my fathers birthplace at Upton Park there was barely an original Cockney remaining in his Street. Let alone a family. “Gone to Essex” apparently. At the top of Bow Street Magistrates Court there is written a date, 1879. At that time my Grt. Grt. Grt. Grandfather and three generations of his family were living close by. Working as Greengrocers on the Markets. Including Covent Garden Market. He himself became a Market Weights Tester for the LCC in 1897. So he would have known this Building well. I also remembered as a child watching the Black Maria’s turn up at this Court on the TV News. Celebrities of one sort or another being bundled through Bow Streets' Doors. Following Oscar Wilde, the Pankhurst's and the Krays. In my Studio I looked at the A2 enlarged photo on its Canvas. I wondered how to combine my feelings for the building and this culture. For all of those who had passed through its Doors in the 100 years plus of its working lifetime. I decided to crowd the Door with Buttons to represent all of those who had passed through it. I have Boxes of Buttons for my Puppet Making. I chose Pearl and Gold Buttons. Pearls being a Cockney emblem for deal making and Gold for the profit. From a time when London's Streets were paved with gold. Enough said. Marcus Clarke
    Title. Reliquario di Pinocchio - A fragment of the true nose of Pinocchio in it's original Reliquary. |
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| It
was a cold late October evening and I had fallen asleep on the sofa. I
was woken by a knocking on the front door. It unsettled me as we have a
door bell. I opened the door and looked down onto the top of a black
three cornered Hat. It was hovering
at my waist. Suddenly it rose up and into my face revealing the tall
thin
man beneath it. I stepped back to take in his full figure. All in black
he looked like a Highwayman. Still, stoic and imposing he stood there a
moment in silence. Then he
slowly lowered the thin grey silk scarf from his mouth. Is it Halloween
I
thought? He had long thin eyes and a pale, gaunt face. He fixed my gaze
and in a deep heavily accented voice he said, "good evening, this is
the
Reliquario di Pinocchio. It contains a fragment of the true nose of
Pinocchio. It is a bequest from the Count Innino Naso to you. Because
of your faith." He thrust it into my arms and its black velvet cover
immediately fell away. I stared in amazement at it.
When I looked up the man was gone. |
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| Rose Croix Crucifixes |
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| Sculpture.
Title. French Jesus on Cross, English Rose Croix. |
Sculpture. Title. Plastic Jesus on Cross, Cloth Rose Croix. | ||||
Artistic Statement. Short
I'm an artist and an artiste. My
contemporary Artwork has developed considerably since I first returned
to it in 2010. Having enjoyed a successful 20+ year Puppetry and
Performing Arts sabbatical and I'm
currently
exploring
and
incorporating
a
few
new
Semiotic
ideas into my 'Puppetising'. (Spelt with an s or a z) Including
Victor
Shklovsky's
assertion
that;
Art's
key
function
is
estrangement,
defamiliarization
or
'making
strange'.
What
many
Semioticians
call
denatuturalization. This is something that can potentially show ideology at work. That 'reality' can be challenged. It's fun too.
Marcus Clarke
Artistic
Statement. LongPress
The front Cover of June/July 2011 Nottingham Culture Magazine 'LeftLion' Created by Marcus Clarke.
Inside is an interview with Marcus Clarke. Interview
LeftLion Shoot Video
Previous LeftLion Article. Previous
InTouch Magazine interview
BBC Articles and Radio Interviews. BBC
Influences and Short Stories page
Nottingham Castle Gallery Annual Open 2011 Marcus Clarke exhibiting 'Or it's just a Brick.'     Viewers of this Film may also find this clip from Fellini's ROMA of interest. |
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| Comment: There's a lot of comedy
and dramatic creativity that
you added to that
event that wasn't already there or would have been humourless and self
regarding. You made your own self and the refused piece into the art! |
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| Surface Gallery Nottingham
2011 'Salon des Refuse's' August 2011 Works hung titled Nottingham on the Square Native Marcus Clarke (Self Portrait) |
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 |
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| Title.
'A
Rose
by
any
other
name.' |
Title.
'Or
it's
just
a
Brick.' |
It is almost impossible to understand British History and Culture without a good understanding of Freemasonry's place in it. I make no apology for informing myself.
When a man takes up the offer to become a Freemason he will most likely have little real understanding of what it is he is undertaking. He will do so for a variety of reasons. One being to gain approval from his Father, Peers, Colleagues and Business Associates. As he progresses through the levels he is like a child being lessoned to graduation. Hence in this work I have placed brand new child alphabet letters on these old English Masonic Aprons. And of each level. Each achieving coherence. Finally the Past Master has Passed. Has arrived and achieved acceptance. Approval. On one level it's simple symbolism.
It is also the custom to seek approval for such related works before exhibition or publication and, while I would not wish to offend or be rude, I am also with this work saying that as an English Artist, in that culture and tradition, that I do not feel I need 'approval' to express myself creatively.
About this work. Grt. Queen Street.Not an easy Street to find and so I have marked it as many online Maps do with a red pin head and a blue outer ripple on this A2 Photo which is on Canvas. The Dot within a Circle is an Ancient Geometric Symbol used to convey several meanings. Even today. I have used it to express myself here. My Puppet Making fake fur forms the shapes with a Red Eye I have made placed in the centre. You can see from the close up that I have put dots within the lens. They Sparkle like Stars.
Marcus Clarke
About this
work. Imagined Reason. People see, find or imagine all sorts of meaning and reason in symbols. And in their purposeful and seemingly deliberate placement. Including Geometric.
Here I have used selected parts of the street layout of Washington D.C. Scribed it out in plastic Mecccano. To this I have added and placed other symbols. Creating new expression and a new work, It's titled. 'Imagined Reason'. It asks the viewer to playfully imagine meaning or reason within it. Marcus Clarke.
Marcus works at the deconstructive interface of iconic imagery and innovative artistic practice. He playfully détourns or high jacks or subverts iconic images to give them a different meaning. His work plays with the pieces of given aesthetic images and adds and subtracts visual cues to provide a different horizon of possibilities in the image.
In this way his work moves from the image to the gesture. Following Giorgio Agembem's work on the use of Cinema as creating space to take images to a gestural politics. For example, his representation of the iconic image of Nottingham Council House has been détourned to change the meaning to a playful and humorous deconstructive reading of the role and function of civic buildings generally and Nottingham's identity specifically.
His contemporary development shows a significant movement from artistic animation and creation, to an aesthetic of flippant-dadaism, a powerful yet playful project of creative destruction to produce auratic art.
Marcus makes a telling and significant contribution to contemporary aesthetic production and consumption, and makes a significant impact, amongst a variety of stakeholders, with his auratic art. Dr. Adam Barnard.
As a Visual Artist and Curator I have delved into the work of Marcus Clarke for his interesting perspectives on his works politically, geographically and for his alternative observations. His work is playful but also omits a familiar reasoning. As a fellow resident in Nottingham, it is interesting to see Marcus being involved and speaking for the mass in terms of 'defamiliarization' where one has to disown their prior knowledge to return to it and embrace anew. It is this connection where I engage in his creative development as an evolving artist whose work encompasses the social state with a humorous and nonconforming approach. His energy and pro-activeness consistently offers an unpredictable view of his work. Diana Ali. http://www.dianaali.com/
| Below.
Some
British
Art
Show
Venues
for
2010
and
some
People
are
Puppetised.
I'm
not
a
political
caricaturist
but..... |
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| Nottingham Castle Gallery
and Museum |
Titled David Cameron | New Art Exchange |
| Titled 'Yes we have no
Bananas' |
Titled 'Hey Mr. Tallyman' |
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 |
 |
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| Title. Tracy Emin |
Title. Nottingham
Contemporary
Art Gallery |
Title.
Ed Miliband. |
 About this
work. self Portrait. 'Native Marcus Clarke'. Many Artists have done a Self Portrait and I wanted to do one too. Recently I got out all of my Puppetised Pictures to show a Magazine Editor. I saw the opportunity to grab a photo of myself with my Pictures. Helena obliged. Looking at the
resulting self-portrait
Photograph. A fair
few ideas came through my head for Puppetising it on Canvas. They
largely
revolved around me drawing a very large Dali style Mustache on my face.
Bit
Dada and obvious I thought. In my local Oxfam Charity Shop I found two
Tortoise and Rabbit
Toys. I thought them emblematic and appropriate to add to my picture.
My Creative life has
been more of a Tortoise like test of endurance than anything else. With
the
occasional spurt of Hare like progress. At this point I was reminded
that the
British Comedian Hancock had said “endurance is more important than
talent”.
Adding these Toys to my self portrait alone seemed a bit worthy and
un-anarchic though. So I contemplated what it was I was trying to
achieve with this
Puppetised ‘Self Portrait’. (Always a good idea.) An emotive image yes.
What
else? Self-expression and? Credibility. That’s what I seek the most at
the
moment. I want the Art of Puppetry and indeed my own Contemporary
Artwork to be
taken seriously. Hilarious! What could be funnier and better then, than
for me
to present myself as a Clown? I thought of putting myself
in a Fez. But Tommy Cooper is an iconic British Comedian with real
credibility
and status. Could be ironic? Nah. Then I remembered that with my
Teenage blond
Curly Hair people had once compared me with Harpo Marx. Perfect! I
found some
Curly Wool in a Box that I had dyed bright Yellow and bought an Air
Horn to add
to my Picture. I needed something to foreshorten and funny up my legs?
Something appropriate
on my feet? I found some Small Spat like shoes in a prop Box in the
attic.
Great!
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| About
the work on the right 'First Thursday Night and Saturday Morning' At West Bridgford Comprehensive School in Nottinghamshire in the 1970's I observed my fellow 14 and 15 year olds. There came to my notice a cliche of boys who began behaving noticeably strangely. I now know these boys to have been Lewis's. The Son's of Freemasons. They talked in whispers and of secret knocks. Showed me Geometric doodles that were, "another way of saying God." Together these Boys practised what I now know to be Masonic rituals. Grips, movements and stances. Awkward and odd ways of helping one another to get up. They were preparing their rights of passage. Meanwhile the Girls ignored them. They busily prepared their own. They chatted about boyfriends with Cars. Slade, Tartan and Rollers. Make up and Skin Heads. They arranged to meet up on Saturday Morning's in Town. In Nottingham. To look around the Shops. Show off new Boyfriends. New clothes. This is what this Picture is about. Those two Nottingham Cultures and Traditions. Then. |
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| Title First
Thursday Night
and Saturday Morning |
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Title Nottingham City Council House and Square |
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Something
though was still missing? My wife and
creative partner Helena of course! Helena comes from Lyme Regis which
as it
happened we were about to visit at the time of me creating this work."I'm duel Heritage. West Bridgford and West Ham.
Born in Forest Gate, West Ham, London and brought up in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire.
Today. Nottingham is where my Home is and London is where my Work is.
Where my Work has always been.
I didn't choose any of this. It's just the way it is."
Marcus Clarke.
Marcus Clarke's Artistic Statement Long
Around
2002 filling a gap
in my Historical knowledge. I began to study the History of Religions
in the early
Western World. Starting with the Sumerians through to the Egyptians,
Celts, Greeks
and Romans and then on to Judaism and Christianity. I became
interested in the continuation of certain strands of belief and so
called
secret
knowledge, symbolism and freemasonry. I spent years learning the
rituals of
Freemasonry. Mostly from books, some of the so called higher, side and
other rituals too. English, Scots and U.S.
I found it quite fascinating and it is almost impossible to understand
British History and Culture without understanding Freemasonry's place
in it.
Last
year I realised that my
interest wasn’t Academic but Artistic. Coming to the
conclusion that I'm
actually an Artist. Through and through. That everything I have ever
done has been a symptom
of that. That
having substantially developed my Puppetry and Puppetry Craft Skills
along
with my knowledge of symbolism and so much else. That I now wanted to
interact with the
real
World in a new way. As a Contemporary Artist. To explore the spaces and
the gaps. Where new life
begins.
It's about more than just putting a Moustache on the Mona Lisa. Or
being
'Collage and Crafty'. Or just continuing the work I began as an Art
Student.
It's about creating and expressing something different. Differently. I
founded
the Art movement “Puppet
TV
Graffiti’ to encapsulate this work and I’ve developed it further
with my researches of Semiotics. Explained in my Short Artistic
Statement above.
| About
Puppet
TV
Graffiti "affectionate anarchy.” Contact Interview Left Lion Magazine Original 'Puppet TV Graffiti' Manifesto [DEFINITION of Puppetising: Progressive Verb, from the Noun Puppet, and Verb Puppetise, meaning to transform an object or photograph into a puppet character, using puppet-making materials.] Marcus uses his puppet resources to add texture, dimensions and colour, including eyeballs, faux fur, Gaffa tape and Evo stick. The artwork is created quickly in a restricted time period; resulting in a hurried, unbalanced, improvised, and immediate Graffiti-style effect. The beauty of these frantic pieces is that they are all puppetry-contemporary artworks of their moment in time; they are unique, with a vibrant energy that is captured by Marcus, and re-captured by the viewer through his works. Marcus believes that ‘This is how Puppet TV Graffiti should always be created!’ Puppet TV Graffiti as a movement is inspired by many of Marcus’ personal experiences, as well as professional works, including by his mentor’s Jim Henson's NBC Pipes. Marcus is unifying his knowledge of media, arts, and puppetry to create something innovative and new. Puppet TV Graffiti. Jordan Portal Public Relations http://www.portalpr.net http://www.flicker.com/portalpr http://www.facebook.com/portalpr http://www.youtube.com/portalpr1 |
| First Exhibition planned
in NYC 2012. Marcus Clarke All page content copyright Marcus Clarke 2011 |